10 November 2002
Satcoms
First e-mail Sent Directly From a Commercial Airliner via
a High-speed Internet Connection
HNS and Central Transport
Keep on Truckin
HNS Provides Korea Telecom with Broadband Network
ViaSat to Develop
SkyLink Broadband Equipment for Executive Aircraft
Earth
Observation
Alcatel to Provide Weather Satellite Ground Stations in Africa for
PUMA Project
SeaSpace Corporation Announces Major Contract Awards From New
Customers
Navigation
NovAtel Awarded Contract for Galileo Interoperability Study
Trimble and Spraying
Systems Take Agricultural Automation to the Next Level
Military
Space
USAF Awards RSI
with Data Acquisition Contract for Eagle Vision Program
Launch
Services
Arianespace
to Launch Fourth Indonesian Satellite
Atlas V to Launch Hellas Sat
Business
ESA Appoints Ogilvy Brand Relations to Help Market ISS
Assets
Products and Services
Analytical Graphics Releases STK/Scheduler
People
New Deputy Director, Expendable Launch Vehicles &
Payload Carriers Program at KSC
Riegler Named NASA Ames' Director Of Astrobiology,
Space
First
e-mail Sent Directly
From a Commercial Airliner via a High-speed Internet Connection
(5 November 2002)
Lufthansa and Boeing have announced that the first e-mail sent via a broadband
Internet connection from onboard a scheduled commercial airliner, successfully
reached its recipient.
On Friday, October 25, 2002
aboard the Lufthansa 747-400, "Sachsen-Anhalt," members of the Lufthansa and
Connexion by Boeing project team simultaneously activated the onboard system
and the satellite network for the first time and sent the transmission. The
long-haul aircraft with the registration D-ABTE was cruising over the North
Atlantic south of Greenland at an altitude of 35,000 feet (10,668 meters). With
a speed of 910 km/h, flight LH 418 was on its regular route from Frankfurt to
Washington, DC.
During the flight, a standard laptop computer was
connected to the system via a secure, firewall-protected Internet connection, a
virtual private network or VPN, to the Lufthansa corporate intranet.
Commencing with the Lufthansa service demonstration, airline passengers will be
able to choose from a multitude of personalised real-time services, including
Internet and firewall-protected intranet access, e-commerce, entertainment
content, transmission and receipt of data, shopping, travel and destination
information.
In the meantime, Lufthansa FlyNet - the working title of
the Lufthansa service - has successfully completed the first series of internal
tests. All components and functions of the system operated trouble-free,
allowing the sending and receipt of e-mails with large text and photo files.
Moreover, the Lufthansa portal, developed jointly with Tomorrow Focus AG and
presenting news along with stock prices, weather and travel information, has
successfully finished its first successful test. In the weeks to come, several
more sophisticated tests are scheduled to guarantee reliable and robust
operations.
Commercial passengers flying the "Sachsen-Anhalt" aircraft
will be able to begin using the system on January 15, 2003. For three months
all passengers can use Lufthansa FlyNet with their own laptops or rental
laptops onboard without charge on trans-Atlantic flights between Frankfurt and
Washington Dulles (LH 418 and LH 419). Lufthansa has intentionally selected two
daytime flights to gain as much information as possible about passenger use of
the service.
HNS and
Central Transport Keep
on Truckin
(4
November 2002) Hughes Network Systems (HNS) Inc has announced today a new
agreement with long-time HNS customer Central Transport International Inc, a
less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier specialising in regional, national and
international transportation services. Under the terms of the agreement, HNS
will upgrade Central Transport's VSAT communications network to broadband using
HNS' DirecWay enterprise broadband-by-satellite service solutions.
Central Transport will utilise HNS' DW2000 equipment to
carry DirecWay satellite service to nearly 300 interstate trucking terminals
across North America by end of 2002. Applications on the satellite network will
electronically scan and transmit bills of lading and receipts of delivery, and
print and transmit work orders and assignments for individual Central Transport
drivers. The Central Transport data centre in Warren, Michigan, will be
interconnected with the new DirecWay services hub in Southfield, a suburb of
Detroit. The new state-of-the-art HNS facility is a shared access point in the
national network, operated from the DirecWay Network Management and Control
Center at the HNS' headquarters in Germantown.
With DirecWay, Central
Transport will be able to introduce user-friendly, Web-based and IP-based
applications that use graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and client-server
architecture. In addition to tracking Central Transport employee drivers and
customer shipments, DirecWay will also enable every employee to connect to a
central network for general office systems, such as e-mail and desktop
applications.
HNS
Provides Korea Telecom
with Broadband Network
(4 November 2002) Hughes Network Systems Inc (HNS) is
providing KT Corporation (Korea Telecom) with a broadband satellite network
solution for the largest gas station chain in South Korea, owned by SK
Corporation.
Utilising HNS' broadband by satellite
technology, standardised e-commerce applications are being linked to
next-generation IP-based applications and made available to the almost 4,000 SK
gas stations and LPG filling stations nation-wide. Applications include
Internet/intranet, SAP applications, as well as credit cards and bonus point
card processing.
SK gas stations are the first in Korea to be
interconnected via a broadband, two-way satellite system. The system was
developed to provide Internet-based multimedia services to personal and small
group users and is expected to vitalise SK's exclusive gas station web site for
petroleum ordering, supply and purchasing. In addition, the speed of online
credit card transactions has already improved and internal broadcasting and
remote training are now available at company-owned gas stations.
Mercury Corporation of Seoul, South Korea is under contract to install and
maintain the satellite broadband network, which is expected to be completed by
December of this year.
ViaSat to Develop SkyLink Broadband Equipment for Executive
Aircraft
(4
November 2002) ViaSat Inc has been awarded a contract by ARINC Incorporated for
initial development of the Airborne Integrated Satellite Communications
Terminal for the SkyLink business jet communication system.
SkyLink is a broadband in-flight communications service for
use on larger business aircraft. It is designed to offer extremely fast data
rates, providing performance similar to high-speed Internet connections and
corporate networks found in modern offices. The broadband satellite terminal
will include an integrated transceiver/router and a tracking antenna subsystem
developed in partnership with Rantec Microwave Systems of Calabassas,
California.
ARINC has previously announced that Gulfstream Aerospace
Corporation has contracted to purchase SkyLink for installation on Gulfstream
corporate jets, making Gulfstream the launch customer for the broadband
satellite service.
SkyLink will deliver digital data to aircraft at
rates from 256 kb/s to 3 Mb/s, not only speeding data transmissions, but
greatly increasing the possibilities for multimedia and other bandwidth hungry
applications.
Alcatel to Provide Weather Satellite Ground Stations in Africa
for PUMA Project
(7
November 2002) Alcatel Space has been awarded a contract by the Meteorological
Department of Kenya for the supply and installation of 47 receiving stations
for Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) weather satellites in 45 African
countries.
The work is being carried out in the
framework of the PUMA project (Preparation of the Use of MSG1 in Africa),
launched in 1996 by Eumetsat (European Organisation for the Exploitation of
Meteorological Satellites) and the European Commission. It will signify a
considerable step forward in weather forecasting for Africa and the Indian
Ocean. The European Commission is providing funding via the European
Development fund to deploy integrated receiving stations that will improve the
accuracy and frequency of meteorological data in the region.
Under the
contract, Alcatel Space is responsible for the supply of all equipment, plus
on-site installation of the ground stations and initial user training. VCS
Engineering of Germany will provide some receiving and data processing hardware
and software.
Six test centres are to be delivered to Kenya, Niger,
Senegal, Cameroon, Zimbabwe and Mauritius over the next six months. These
centres will mainly be used to train future users for all countries involved.
All stations should be installed within less than 20 months.
MSG-1
data will considerably strengthen environmental monitoring throughout Africa
with better and more timely information to help predict natural disasters,
improve food security, and ensure more efficient water use and safer
transport.
SeaSpace Corporation Announces Major Contract Awards From New
Customers
(8
November 2002) Allied Research Corporation's California-based subsidiary,
SeaSpace Corporation, has received a series of orders totalling over US$ 1
million, including orders from new customers in Finland and Italy, as well as
to add critical new capability to certain US Navy systems.
SeaSpace is a leading worldwide supplier of TeraScan ground
receiving stations and proprietary software used to process earth-sensing
satellite data for customers needing timely and accurate weather and
environmental information for critical missions.
The new orders
include three new multi-mission ground stations for receiving, processing, and
routing information from weather and environmental satellites transmitting at X
band, including NASA's EOS satellites, Terra and Aqua, and India's Oceansat.
Two of the next generation X band TeraScan systems are for new customers, one
for the Province of Benevento, Italy, and one for the Finnish Meteorological
Institute. The third contract will add critical new capability to the US Navy's
complement of TeraScan software and hardware products deployed near areas of
potential conflict.
NovAtel Awarded Contract for Galileo Interoperability Study
(5 November 2002)
NovAtel Inc has been awarded a Cdn$ 142,000 contract by Public Works &
Government Services Canada for an Interoperability study on the receiver
requirements for Galileo. Galileo is the European Union's state-of-the-art
Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), which is expected to be fully
operable by 2008 with up to 30 satellites orbiting the earth.
This contract, sponsored in Canada by the Canadian Space
Agency (CSA), focuses principally on both GPS and Galileo receiver requirements
and system performance. NovAtel will study the requirements for a combined
GPS/Galileo receiver. The University of Calgary, also located in Calgary,
Canada, will work under a subcontract to NovAtel to analyse the performance of
the system using system constellation modelling techniques.
Currently,
NovAtel supplies GPS navigational receivers to national satellite-based
augmentation systems (SBAS) including the US WAAS, the European EGNOS, Japanese
MSAS, and Chinese SNAS. These complex receivers incorporate NovAtel's Narrow
Correlator (tracking technology and MEDLL technologies, process WAAS signals
from geostationary satellites, and include dual frequency L1/L2 signal
reception.
The University of Calgary, through its Department of
Geomatics Engineering, is a world leading academic institution in
satellite-based navigation and positioning research and training of highly
qualified personnel. Research related to GPS began 20 years ago, while
involvement with Galileo began in 2000.
Trimble and Spraying Systems Take Agricultural Automation to the
Next Level
(5
November 2002) Trimble and Spraying Systems Co have formed a strategic alliance
to develop and market Global Positioning System (GPS) based assisted steering
for agriculture application control systems.
The
integrated solution will be used to automatically guide sprayers, spreaders and
combines while self-regulating the application of fertilisers, crop protection
products or harvesting crops to increase efficiency. Financial terms were not
disclosed.
Spraying Systems produces and distributes products to
manage precise application of fertiliser and crop protection products in
agriculture internationally. The company is a world leader in providing
complete application solutions from in-cab electronic consoles to smart spray
nozzle tips. Adding Trimble's AgGPS Autopilot system to its array of
technologies furthers Spraying Systems goal of developing and marketing
solutions that automate many of the processes executed manually today on
applicators and combines, and other related equipment.
Trimble is a
world leader in producing rugged and reliable GPS positioning, guidance and
machine control for agriculture, construction and mining. In agriculture,
automated steering is based on Trimble's proven AgGPS Autopilot system. The
guidance system connects to a vehicle's steering system to automatically steer
it in consistently straight rows for tilling, planting, spraying, cultivating
and applying fertilisers. Automated steering saves time and money. It reduces
driver fatigue, application skips and overlaps, minimises soil compaction, and
increases capital equipment utilisation allowing around-the-clock operations.
Most importantly, the system increases efficiency to lower the cost per
acre.
The customer further benefits from the integration of automated
steering technologies into electronic display consoles in the cab, such as the
Mid-Tech Legacy 6000. The solution will streamline sophisticated product
applications by eliminating unnecessary electronic equipment in the vehicle cab
and simplifying the overall system operation. In a typical variable rate
fertiliser application, the Legacy 6000 console removes the need for multiple
displays, such as a dedicated computer and one or more rate controllers.
Automated steering will also be integral to the same in-cab displays. All
automatic metering processes of liquid and dry materials are accessible through
the Legacy 6000 console, and maps are generated and displayed in real time to
validate successful operation.
USAF Awards RSI with Data Acquisition Contract for Eagle
Vision Program
(4
November 2002) Radarsat International, (RSI) has been awarded a one-year
contract by the United States Air Force (USAF) Eagle Vision Program.
The agreement, valued at US$ 777,000, enables the USAF to
routinely receive Radarsat-1 imagery at its three Eagle Vision portable ground
stations. With this award the Eagle Vision program will be able to continue
providing all-weather imaging capability to the USAF's global military
operations.
Eagle Vision stations are deployable satellite receiving
stations designed to collect commercial satellite imagery. At present, Eagle
Vision 1 receives imagery from Landsat, SPOT, Radarsat-1 and IRS 1-C and 1-D
and it is being upgraded to receive QuickBird.
Radarsat-1's history
with the Eagle Vision Program dates back to 1998 when the Program's first
receiving station, based in Ramstein, Germany began acquiring Radarsat-1
imagery. Since then, the USAF has acquired two additional stations, located in
Reno, Nevada, and Eastover, South Carolina, considerably augmenting the
operations of the Eagle Vision Program.
Arianespace to Launch Fourth Indonesian Satellite
(8 November 2002)
Arianespace and Indonesian satellite operator PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia have
signed a contract for the launch of the Telkom 2 telecommunications
satellite.
Telkom-2 will be launched by an Ariane 5 in
the second half of 2004 from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. It is the
second satellite entrusted by Telkom to Arianespace after Telkom-1, which was
successfully launched from Kourou, French Guiana, on August 12, 1999, and the
fourth in total for Indonesia, following the Palapa C-2 in 1996, Cakrawarta-1
in 1997 and Telkom-1.
Telkom-2, to be manufactured by US-based Orbital
Sciences Corporation based on its Star-2 platform which can go up to 2,300
kilograms in weight, will carry 24 C band transponders and will have a 15-year
in-orbit life. The satellite, which will be placed at 118° E, will enable
Telkom to replace its existing Palapa-B4 satellite. Its addition will bolster
Telkom's coverage in Southern Asia and the Indian subcontinent, in addition to
its current Indonesian capacity. It will be used for voice, video and data
communications for the region.
Atlas V to Launch Hellas Sat
(8 November 2002) International Launch Services (ILS)
and Hellas-Sat, a Greek-Cypriot consortium, have signed a contract to launch
the Hellas-Sat satellite on an Atlas V rocket early next year.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Hellas-Sat
Consortium Ltd, based in Nicosia, Cyprus, plans to offer voice, internet, video
and broadcast services to European and Balkan markets. With the launch set for
the first quarter of 2003, the satellite will be in service well before the
Summer Olympics in Athens in 2004.
The satellite is a Eurostar E2000+
model built by Astrium.
ESA Appoints Ogilvy Brand Relations to Help Market ISS
Assets
(7 November
2002) The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected Ogilvy Brand Relations in
Brussels, Belgium, to help it develop a branding and communications strategy
for the International Space Station (ISS). ESA's objective is to raise
commercial demand for use of the European assets on the International Space
Station.
Ogilvy will help ESA develop the station's
brand image and design a communications strategy to put the ISS in the public
eye in Europe and to raise its potential among the European business
community.
Although the communications programme will focus on the
R&D community, it will also reach out to newer kinds of space
entrepreneurs, active in marketing, entertainment and tourism. The R&D
effort will concentrate on health, biotechnology, environment, food, and new
materials.
The fact that most companies lack experience in the
commercial exploitation of space, combined with the state of today's economy,
will make this a complex and challenging programme.
Analytical Graphics Releases STK/Scheduler
(6 November 2002) Analytical Graphics Inc
(AGI) and business partner Orbit Logic Incorporated have announced the release
of STK/Scheduler, commercially available software that enables spacecraft
engineers and operators to schedule all aspects of operations. STK/Scheduler
uses tasks, resources, and events generated by AGI's Satellite Tool Kit (STK)
to rapidly produce scheduling solutions based on configurable figures of
merit.
This new scheduling software is applicable to a
variety of tasks throughout the aerospace industry including satellite and
ground station scheduling; system architecture design; missile defence
evaluation; astronomical observation planning; and consumable resource
sizing.
Basic STK applications include calculating and visualising a
vehicle's position and attitude, analysing its field of view, and determining
acquisition times. STK functionality can be extended with add-on modules that
support specialised tasks including 3-D battlespace visualisation,
communications link analysis, collision avoidance, manoeuvre planning, real-
time data interfacing, high-fidelity missile modelling, GIS analysis, attitude
simulation, orbit determination, and coverage assessment.
New
Deputy Director,
Expendable Launch Vehicles & Payload Carriers Program at KSC
(4 November 2002) Ramon
Lugo III has been appointed deputy director of the Expendable Launch Vehicles
(ELV) & Payload Carriers Program at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), effective
November 10, 2002.
In this capacity, Lugo will serve as
the ELV and Payload Carriers Program strategic interface to the Space
Transportation System (STS) programs and the International Space Station (ISS).
He will work with the US Air Force, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)
and other government agencies to establish beneficial partnerships and will be
the contact for strategic contract outsourcing and industrial base issues, and
for the assessment of business cases. He will be the program interface to KSC
on processing facilities and institutional issues affecting KSC's launch
services capabilities.
Lugo currently serves as executive director of
the Cape Canaveral Spaceport Management Office (CCSMO). He has also served in
numerous positions at KSC in Space Shuttle, payloads, ELV and installation
operations. His first role at KSC was as an engineer in the construction and
modification branch, responsible for construction modifications to Launch
Complex 39A in preparation for the first Space Shuttle launch.
Since
then, Lugo has served in several managerial roles, to include chief, Business
Office, Joint Performance Management Office (JPMO) which preceded the CCSMO,
deputy director, Expendable Launch Vehicle Services, manager, Facilities and
Support Equipment Division, Space Station Project Office and acting director,
Expendable Launch Vehicle Services. From May 1994-Feb. 1995, he served a dual
assignment at Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston, Texas and NASA Headquarters,
Washington, DC working on Space Station redesign.
Susan Kroskey,
currently serving as deputy director of CCSMO, will assume the role of acting
executive director until further notice.
Riegler Named NASA Ames' Director Of Astrobiology, Space
(7 November 2002) Dr
Guenther Riegler, a senior executive from the Office of Space Science at NASA
Headquarters, has been named director of astrobiology and space research at
NASA Ames Research Center.
Riegler, who previously
served as the executive director for science in NASA's Office of Space Science,
will assume his news duties at NASA Ames in January. He succeeds Estelle
Condon, who served as the acting director of astrobiology and space research at
NASA Ames and recently was named an associate centre director.
In his
new capacity at NASA Ames, Riegler will direct the centre's extensive research
in the fields of astrobiology (the study of the origin, evolution, distribution
and destiny of life in the universe) and lead the centre's major research
activities in space, Earth and life sciences.
As the agency's
executive director of the Office of Space Science, Riegler was responsible for
oversight of the science requirements, management and performance of all of
NASA's space science missions. He previously served as the director of the
Research Program Management Division at NASA Headquarters. The division is
responsible for science requirements, management and performance of all space
science missions.
Riegler joined NASA Headquarters in 1987 from NASA's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he was responsible for astrophysics mission
operations and data analysis programs. Since 1995, Riegler has served as the
chief scientist for the research division of the Office of Space Science. He
also assumed responsibility for mission operations and data analysis management
for most of NASA's operating space science missions.
